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The Battle of Adobe Walls, part 3

By Drew Gomber

For Vamonos

Posted:
05/29/2014 07:10:06 PM MDT

The attack had begun. It should be remembered that once inside the buildings, the Hide Men could not communicate with anyone in the other buildings, which had to have added to the nerve-wracking situation. They could only theorize as to the fate of their neighbors.

There were 28 buffalo hunters and one woman present when the attack came. Legendary Comanche Quanah Parker led an overwhelming force to the little settlement of Adobe Walls with the intent of wiping out the Hide Men who had decimated the buffalo herds.

Billy Tyler fell in the initial attack, and Billy Olds was accidentally killed during the subsequent siege. And then there were the Scheidler brothers.

The Scheidlers

The Scheidler brothers were camped outside of the compound, asleep in their wagon at the far north end of the complex. One can only imagine the terror they felt when, awakened by the barking of their Newfoundland dog, they peered outside to see that the Indians, unaware they were in the wagon, had already swarmed around them as they approached the rest of the settlement. The brothers knew it was only a matter of time before one of those Indians looked inside.

Sure enough, one of them did investigate, and one of the terrified brothers cut loose with a shotgun, sealing their fate. In a matter of moments, the wagon was riddled and the Indians all over it. The Scheidler's dog put up such a stiff defense of the brothers' bodies that the Indians not only killed him, but took a part of his skin as a sort of "scalp." In Billy Dixon's words, Quanah's men "flaunted the bloody scalps of the poor Shadlers [sic] with devilish glee."

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The buffalo hunters did not use their much-vaunted rifles, for the simple reason that Quanah's men were right on top of them. The initial attack was fought, not with rifles, but pistols — up close and personal. The warriors poured into the settlement, flattening themselves against the walls of the buildings so that the inhabitants could not get a shot at them. Some of the mounted Indians attempted to get their horses to back into the doors — equine battering rams.

The battle

The hunters would later recall the courage of the Indians. One young warrior, displaying incredible bravery, raced right up to the Rath and Company Store, jammed his pistol in through one of the sod gunports and emptied it. Fortunately for the inhabitants, all he succeeded in doing was to fill the inside with smoke. One of the hunters shot and paralyzed him. They could hear him shouting to a man in a nearby ravine who they theorized was his father. When one of the hunters maneuvered to get another shot, the young warrior put his revolver to his head (apparently having reloaded) and ended his own life.

During the siege, Billy Olds, the clerk, slipped while climbing down a ladder. When he hit the ground, the revolver in his hand went off, inflicting what would turn out to be a fatal wound on himself. Another version of the story has Mrs. Olds inflicting the fatal wound — accidentally, of course. If she was as hysterical as one of the participants claimed, she had plenty of reason to be in such a state.

After the first half hour, the Indians withdrew and regrouped. Until about mid-day, they inflicted a constant barrage, occasionally charging one of the buildings. Many of them took cover behind the stacks of buffalo hides and proceeded to snipe at the settlement just yards away, and it was they who were in the safest position. Increasing numbers of Quanah's men — those who were not as close to the buffalo hunters as those in the hide yards, began to fall before the accurate, long-range guns of the Hide Men.

Even Quanah was hit. According to most sources, his horse was shot out from under him and he took shelter behind either a rock or buffalo carcass, where he was wounded (probably by a ricochet), temporarily paralyzing his left arm. And it was at that point that the tide of the battle turned.

It seems that without the inspirational Quanah, many warriors were not as determined, and fell back, sniping as they did so. The problem was the undeniable fact that the buffalo hunters' guns were infinitely more accurate and far out-ranged those carried by the Indians.

And that brings us to one of the most famous shots in Western History.

SOURCES: THE HISTORY AND ARCHEOLOGY OF THE 1874 TRADING POST by T. Lindsay Baker and Billy R. Harrison and BAT MASTERSON by R.K. DeArment.

Drew Gomber is available for history tours of Old Lincoln town and Lincoln County, as well as speaking engagements. For more information about booking a tour or presentation, or to order Drew's books or CDs, call 505-653-4056 or email Drew at drew@pvtnetworks.net

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